Norway enacts new law to criminalise exploitation of vulnerable foreign workers
Effective September 15, Norway’s Immigration Act adds Section 108 a, allowing police and prosecutors to charge employers, landlords and contractors who exploit foreign nationals in work or housing.
Norway’s Immigration Act (Utlendingsloven) now includes Section 108 a, which takes effect on September 15 and gives authorities the power to prosecute employers, property owners and contractors who take advantage of vulnerable foreign nationals. The provision was introduced to address a legal gap where exploitative practices fell between ordinary labor infractions and the stricter crime of human trafficking. It criminalises severe wage theft, major breaches of the Working Environment Act, forced overtime, unpaid tasks, as well as abusive housing practices such as exorbitant rent and overcrowded conditions.
The law also targets forced street-trade, begging and exploitative immigration fees. Liability extends to both intentional exploitation and gross negligence, with penalties ranging from fines to up to three years in prison, and up to six years for organized or especially harmful offences, including cases involving victims under 18. The measure aims to protect temporary permit holders, asylum seekers, EEA nationals without permanent residence and undocumented workers.
Why it matters
The law gives Norway stronger tools to protect foreign workers from exploitation and deters abusive labor and housing practices.
In this story
